Chapter 397: Basic Skills

The young man took a bite of meat and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? You've only been here a day, and you're already impatient?"

"Not exactly," Chen Ling paused. "But I feel a bit too relaxed here... I want to find something to do."

Chen Ling was being honest. On one hand, he enjoyed the peace and comfort here, but on the other, he felt that too much comfort was a waste of time. Most importantly, his "audience" didn't want to see him so comfortable; if things continued this way, their expectations would start to drop again.

"Don't worry, I won't let you have too easy a time," the young man said, waving his hand. "However, your current foundation isn't strong enough for secret arts... Starting tomorrow, you'll practice basic skills with your senior martial brothers and sisters."

The other senior martial brothers and sisters' eyes lit up, and they all looked at Chen Ling, seemingly with some anticipation.

"Master, isn't it a bit late for our junior martial brother to start practicing basic skills now?" Ning Ruyu asked carefully.

"It's not about making him reach your level. Just teach him some essentials... How much he learns depends on his own comprehension."

"That works out perfectly. There are four of us, so each of us can teach him one type."

"Who will start tomorrow?"

"I will," Mo Jiao suddenly said. "He can start with me."

"Alright, it's settled then. Tomorrow morning, you'll go to Fourth Brother's place, then see Second Brother in the afternoon, and then..." Before Chen Ling could speak, the four senior martial siblings began to arrange his schedule among themselves, quickly filling it to the brim.

Basic skills? Although Chen Ling was somewhat puzzled, he nodded and accepted the arrangements made by his senior martial brothers and sisters.

After everyone finished eating, they took their bowls and chopsticks back to their rooms to rest.

Before leaving, the young man patted Chen Ling's shoulder, and an inexplicable aura enveloped Chen Ling.

"I've granted you access to most parts of the Ancient Treasury of Theatrical Arts; you can move freely almost everywhere. However, it's best not to approach the deepest areas."

"Yes, Master."

As the aura wrapped around him, Chen Ling seemed to sense the presence of the Ancient Treasury of Theatrical Arts. It was like a colossal entity situated in the void. Only then did Chen Ling realize how vast this place truly was—almost infinitely immense. His presence there felt like a speck of dust twinkling in the starry sky.

"Is this the 'Divine Path Ancient Treasury'?" Chen Ling murmured to himself.

As night deepened, Chen Ling lay back down on his bed, gazed at the twinkling stars outside the window, and slowly closed his eyes...

He fell into a deep sleep.

*Rustle, rustle—*

After an unknown period of sleep, a faint movement stirred Chen Ling, and he abruptly opened his eyes!

"Who's there?!"

Chen Ling quickly sat up in bed, a gun magically appearing in his hand, ready to activate the Court of Judgment at any moment.

Starlight filtered in through the window, illuminating a corner of the dim room. His surroundings were empty.

Audience expectation: 1

Chen Ling scanned his surroundings but found no enemy, his brows unconsciously furrowing. Was it an illusion?

No, that wasn't right... Something definitely made a sound just now. Was it an enemy? But this was the Ancient Treasury of Theatrical Arts; what kind of enemy could sneak in here?

Chen Ling got out of bed, cautiously checked the room with his gun in hand, found nothing unusual, and then slowly walked towards the door.

He gripped the doorknob, took a deep breath, and instantly flung the door open, his gun pointed outside!

*Whoosh—*

A cold night wind swirled in from outside. The vast grassland was empty, with only the stars silently twinkling above.

Chen Ling slowly lowered his gun, his gaze seemingly fixed on something, and looked down at his feet...

At the doorstep, there was a vase of flowers.

In a white porcelain vase, a bouquet of huge, vibrant yellow flowers was diagonally arranged. They were the size of a washbasin, with rose-like petals blooming in the darkness, emitting a faint glow and a delicate fragrance.

The moment he saw the flowers, Chen Ling felt a sense of bewilderment. After all, they looked nothing like any bouquet that could grow on Earth... they exuded an inexplicable magical quality.

Chen Ling picked them up, perplexed, and found a small note attached beneath the bouquet. It swayed gently in the evening breeze, and on it, three crooked characters were written:

—Sorry

Chen Ling froze.

He scanned his surroundings but saw no one. The grassland under the night sky was utterly silent.

Chen Ling could only turn his gaze back to the words "Sorry," deep in thought:

"This is..."

The next day, early morning.

Following the "schedule" arranged last night, Chen Ling was the first to arrive at Mo Jiao's doorstep.

Before he could even knock, the door opened from within. Mo Jiao smiled slightly when he saw Chen Ling outside.

"Morning, Junior Martial Brother."

"Morning, Senior Martial Brother."

Chen Ling entered the house and found the courtyard meticulously clean. Besides the plants and trees, the most noticeable feature was two chairs and a long table placed prominently in the center. Hot tea had even been brewed in advance on the table, its aroma gently drifting on the breeze.

Chen Ling walked to a chair and asked, puzzled, "Senior Martial Brother, what are we learning today?"

"The theatrical arts tradition has four main basic skills: singing, speaking, acting, and martial arts," Mo Jiao said, putting his hands behind his back. "Today, I will teach you singing."

"Singing?"

Chen Ling was taken aback.

He naturally knew about the four basic skills of singing, speaking, acting, and martial arts. He had even seen some opera performers practice them, but those were preparations for stage performances and had no relevance to his current situation.

"Why do I need to learn these?" Chen Ling asked, puzzled. "I don't plan on performing opera, do I?"

Mo Jiao smiled. "For ordinary people, practicing these is indeed for stage performances. But once you embark on the Divine Path of Theatrical Arts, these basic skills bring much more... Do you know what one of the core abilities of the Divine Path of Theatrical Arts is?"

Chen Ling shook his head.

"Using the conviction of a performance to influence reality," Mo Jiao continued. "Both my ability and Senior Martial Brother's ability are extensions of this power... And conviction can be cultivated.

Most third-tier skills of the Divine Path of Theatrical Arts involve 'portraying the soul.' This means using the conviction of 'acting' to exert a portion of a character's power. Although this power is minimal at first, it continuously grows with increasing tiers... At the same time, under the influence of conviction, we perfectly immerse ourselves in the role, subconsciously imitating every action, word, and expression. Only at this stage is it considered 'perfect disguise.'

Once a practitioner of the Divine Path of Theatrical Arts masters 'portraying the soul,' they become almost indistinguishable once they begin 'acting.'

Junior Martial Brother, although your acting skills are good, there's still a gap before 'perfect disguise.' If it were someone very close to you, or an entity with extremely strong observational skills, they could still recognize you at a glance."